Section 4: Decision by the Prefect

The authority responsible for issuing authorisation to enter France for the purposes of family reunification is the prefect and, in Paris, the police prefect. This authority takes a decision on the application for family reunification within six months of the foreign national submitting the complete application. If no decision is taken within this time limit, the application for family reunification will be rejected. .

In cases where the applicant for family reunification was, at the time of the application, the holder of a récépissé for the renewal of a residence permit, the prefect shall check that the residence permit has been issued before taking his decision. .

The decision on the application for family reunification is notified by the prefect to the applicant.

When a decision to refuse an application for family reunification is based on the non-conformity of the accommodation with the standards of surface area, or comfort and habitability, or on the inconclusive nature of the documents attesting to the availability of the accommodation on the arrival of the family, the applicant who submits, within six months of notification of the refusal, a new application is then exempted from producing some…

The prefect informs the services of the French Office for Immigration and Integration of his decision and the date on which it was notified to the applicant. The services of the Office will forward this information without delay to the mayor and the diplomatic or consular authority of the district in which the applicant’s family lives.